Having heartburn most days for three weeks or more can be a sign of cancer, according to a British health campaign.
A national Be Clear on Cancer campaign launch coincides with results of a new survey commissioned by Public Health England, which reveals only one-in-two people (55 per cent) would visit their doctor if they had heartburn most days for three weeks or more.
Having the complaint this often can be a sign of oesophageal or stomach cancer, the campaign warns.
Early diagnosis of oesophageal or stomach cancer - also known as oesophago-gastric cancers - is crucial and means treatment is more likely to be successful.
Around 67 per cent of people diagnosed with oesophago-gastric cancers at the earliest stage survive for at least five years, but this figure drops to around three per cent for those diagnosed at a late stage.